Comparison

Stacks vs Better Bookshelf

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Stacks

Digitally catalog your physical book collection by scanning shelves or barcodes. Track reading progress, organize by genre or color, and discover new books based on your taste. Features include AI-powered spine recognition and a lending tracker.

Highlights
  • Shelf scanning for bulk book entry
  • Barcode scanning with auto-add
  • Import/export from Goodreads/StoryGraph
  • Visual shelf and spine rendering
  • Reading progress tracking
  • Book scouting and wishlist building
  • Personalized reading recommendations
Features
Read full description

Your shelves, in your pocket. Catalog every book you own, then keep track of what you read. Photograph a shelf, scan barcodes, or import your Goodreads or StoryGraph library — your whole collection is with you everywhere, on iPhone and iPad. BUILD YOUR LIBRARY YOUR WAY • Shelf scan: one photo catalogs an entire shelf — 20, 30, 40 books at once • Barcode auto-add: scan, hear the beep, move to the next book — with undo if you catch a wrong one • Import from Goodreads or StoryGraph with a CSV export, and export your library back out any time • Real cover art, page counts, and publication years fill in automatically • Honest AI: spines it can't read are flagged with their position, never guessed TRACK YOUR READING • Mark each book Not started, Reading, Read, or Didn't finish, with start and finish dates • A Currently reading row and a Reading shelf keep what you're in the middle of up front • Set a yearly reading goal and see your pace for the year (Pro) A LIBRARY THAT LOOKS LIKE A LIBRARY • The Shelf view renders your books as actual spines — width from page count, color from the real cover • Sort by author, genre, or color: your shelves as a rainbow • Grid and list views, search, and smart shelves: Unread, Favorites, Lent Out SCOUT SHELVES & BUILD A WISHLIST • Scout mode: point your camera at a bookstore or thrift-shop shelf and see which books fit your taste — before you buy • Librarian's picks (Pro): curated recommendations you can browse by category or search across the whole catalog • Add any book to your Library or your Want list in a tap — from picks, a scout, or a search KNOW YOUR OWN TASTE • Every scan reads your shelf and tells you something true about your taste • "Read next" picks come from books you already own — starting with your unread pile • Insights: pages owned, top genres, most-shelved authors, books added over time DESIGNED FOR IPHONE & IPAD • On iPad: a sidebar, multi-column shelves, and a two-page book view that fills the screen • Portrait or landscape, with Split View and Stage Manager • Your library and Want list stay in sync across devices NEVER LOSE A BOOK AGAIN • Standing in a bookstore wondering if you own it? Search your library in a second • The lending tracker remembers who borrowed what, and since when • Rate, track what you're reading, and keep notes on every book YOUR LIBRARIAN (PRO) • A weekly note on what to start next — from your own unread shelves, with the reasons • Picks chosen for your shelves: real books you don't own yet, tuned to what you've loved • A book-loving AI that knows your entire library: what to read, buy, or gift — grounded in your actual shelves, not bestseller lists • Chat with any single book, in its own voice • Share a Shelfie: your library as a story card — rainbow shelf, reading fingerprint, most-shelved authors Your library is backed up privately and automatically — no account, no sign-up. Free for up to 100 books. Stacks Pro unlocks unlimited books, reading goals, 50 shelf scans a month and the Librarian: $2.99/month or $19.99/year with a 7-day free trial. Stacks is for people whose books are part of who they are. Catalog your shelves and see your library the way it deserves to be seen. — Terms of Use: https://zencodex.io/apps/stacks/terms Privacy Policy: https://zencodex.io/apps/stacks/privacy

About

Better Bookshelf

Consolidate all your books from physical shelves, Kindle, and Audible into a single, private digital library. Easily add books by scanning barcodes, taking photos, or importing existing libraries. Revisit your favorite highlighted passages and track your reading progress.

Highlights
  • Scan barcodes or covers to add books
  • Import Kindle and Audible libraries
  • Consolidate books across multiple formats
  • Save and revisit highlighted passages
  • Track reading status and personal ratings
  • Mark books as lent
Features
Read full description

Scan an entire bookshelf. Find the book you want. Remember the book, but not where you put it? Take one clear photo of your bookshelf. Better Bookshelf uses AI to identify the books and save their positions. Add matched titles to your library, then search for a book and see it highlighted on your shelf photo. YOUR WHOLE SHELF, ONE PHOTO Build your book inventory without scanning every barcode. Photograph a bookshelf, add identified books together, and help with any uncertain matches. Search by title, scan a barcode, or link a book already in your library. KNOW WHERE YOUR BOOKS ARE Search your saved shelves by title or author. Tap a result to see the book's location, with a close-up and nearby identified books to guide you. You can also choose Find on shelf from a book in your library. KEEP UP WITH YOUR COLLECTION Give each shelf a name. When books move, take a new photo to update that shelf. Better Bookshelf checks your existing library for matches, helping you connect books you already own to their locations. YOUR READING LIFE, TOGETHER • Catalog physical books, ebooks and audiobooks. • Add individual books by barcode or title. • Import supported Kindle, Audible and Goodreads CSV files. • Track unread, reading and read books. • Keep a reading list and record ratings and reviews. • Back up your library to Google Drive. START WITH 50 BOOKS FREE Use barcode scanning or title search to catalog your first 50 books. Whole-shelf AI scanning is included with the paid Unlimited upgrade. UNLIMITED BOOKS. SIX WHOLE-SHELF AI SCANS. The one-time Unlimited purchase removes your library-size limit and includes six AI shelf scans. Already purchased Unlimited? Restore your purchase to link your included scans. The six included scans are granted once, not every month. Need more? Buy additional packs of six scans. Your local price is shown before purchase. One successfully processed shelf photo uses one scan credit, including a new photo used to update a shelf. Fixing matches, adding identified books and searching saved shelves use no scan credits. ABOUT SHELF SCANNING AI scanning requires internet access. Your selected photo is sent to OpenAI through Better Bookshelf for identification. Clear, well-lit photos with readable spines work best. Some books may need correction or manual identification. Shelf locations reflect your saved photo; update it when books move. Your saved library and shelf photos stay on your device, with optional Google Drive backup. Google Drive sign-in is not required to scan a shelf.

Screenshots

Stacks4 screens
Better Bookshelf4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Better Bookshelf at 3.8 against Stacks's 3.0. Better Bookshelf also leads on monetization model (free vs freemium) and ratings volume (6 vs 2). Stacks's advantage is review sentiment (50% vs 33%). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Stacks sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Better Bookshelf sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Better Bookshelf holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 6 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 50% of Stacks's written reviews are positive against 33% of Better Bookshelf's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Stacks ships an update every 5 days, Better Bookshelf every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Stacks versus Better Bookshelf: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStacksBetter Bookshelf
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (2 ratings)3.8 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings26 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB42 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperZenmonkeys Digital LLCMatthew Smith

Customer experience

Stacks

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Better Bookshelf

All ratings6 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral16.7%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Stacks

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time2
  • 3 Scans$0.99
  • 15 Scans$3.99
3 purchases

Better Bookshelf

One-time3
  • Premium — Unlimited Library$9.99
  • 6 Whole Shelf AI Scans$10.00
  • Premium — Unlimited Library$29.99

Questions

Is Stacks free?
Stacks is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Better Bookshelf free?
Better Bookshelf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Stacks or Better Bookshelf?
Better Bookshelf is rated higher. Stacks averages 3.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Better Bookshelf averages 3.8 from 6 ratings.
Do Stacks or Better Bookshelf have ads?
Neither Stacks nor Better Bookshelf shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Stacks or Better Bookshelf?
Stacks ships an update every 5 days, and Better Bookshelf every 4 days. Most recently, Stacks was updated on November 7, 2026 and Better Bookshelf on November 6, 2026.

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